The Right to Sustainable Energy: A Pathway to Environmental, Social and Economic Justice
Introduction
Energy is not a commodity—it is foundational for human dignity and human and planetary well-being. However, vast inequalities in access to energy remain today. Although countries around the world have committed to 100% energy access by 2030 in terms of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (including renewable energy increases in the energy mix), according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2022, 760 million people worldwide lack access to electricity, with Sub-Saharan Africa facing the most severe challenges.
The United Nations Development Programme defines sustainable energy as “energy solutions that simultaneously address development issues related to economic growth, environment and social equity”.[i]
Inequality in access to energy perpetuates poverty, undermining a range of human rights such as healthcare, education, food, housing, water, and environmental rights, gender and children’s rights and hampers economic opportunities and the ability to enjoy an adequate standard of living, including through access to work.
Consider that household air pollution from indoor cooking using fossil fuels and biomass to 3.1 million premature deaths in 2021. Exposure to household air pollution, which is caused by burning of fossil fuels and biomass indoors, is recorded to disproportionately negatively impact the people of Africa.
This inequality of energy use on a large scale is witnessed by the difference in energy use in the global south (using 32 GJ per a year) and the global north, which uses five times this amount.[ii] Gender inequalities mean that women are the ones providing most of the energy for household consumption and women and children being exposed more to household air pollution according to the World Health Organisation.[iii]
The shift from fossil fuels to renewables is not only a climate imperative, but a fundamental human rights issue, especially after the international recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The question then is how to ensure human rights are fulfilled and energy access becomes universal. Here, we explore the path toward recognizing sustainable energy as a human right, the lessons we can learn from other rights frameworks, and the urgent need to act.
From a commodity to a human right: reframing our understanding of (sustainable) energy
The importance of reaffirming sustainable energy as a human right framed the workshop "The Right to (Sustainable) Energy: New Frontiers for Economic, Social, and Environmental Rights" held last year. This workshop was organised by a group of civil society organizations (the Centre for Economic and Social Rights, Enginyeria Sense Fronteres, Friends of the Earth Europe, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Commission of Jurists, Natural Justice and Oxfam) and included academics.
Participants stressed that energy plays a critical role in ensuring the dignity and well-being of individuals, communities, societies, and the planet at large. Without energy, many other rights simply cannot be realized.
Directly and indirectly, various international legal instruments recognize energy access as a human right. Clear examples include Article 14 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on the right to an adequate standard of living. In its General Comment No. 4, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) includes access to energy among the facilities and services necessary for the fulfilment of the right to adequate housing in accordance with the ICESCR.
To address the core issues in the workshop, guest speakers presented on a range of issues including: energy as a human rights issue; experiences in the development and recognition internationally of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment; and the potential formulation of a right to energy.
There is growing momentum to reframe energy from a commodity to a human right. This is especially true with regard to electricity access. For example, the World Bank recently acknowledged access to electricity as a human right during its 2024 Spring Meetings.
Additionally, a judgment in a South African court has recognised the lack of electricity as a breach of several constitutional rights, including human dignity and access to healthcare, food, and education. Furthermore, research done by Dr Marlies Hesselman has shown that the right to energy can be found with different formulations in Article 36 European Union (EU) Charter; Article 11 San Salvador; Maputo Protocol; and most explicitly in the non-binding EU Pillar of Social Rights. Moreover, energy and/or electricity have been recognised as human rights in at least 20 countries.
This growing recognition of energy as a human rights issue requires the development and articulation of an international, standalone right to sustainable energy. Without this, recognition could continue to be partial (focusing only on electricity provision and not on sustainability) and haphazard. Moreover, the process of articulation of a right to sustainable energy could act as an important tool to contribute to the transformation of energy systems, which could critically contribute to the advancement of societies and economies that are both environmentally sustainable and just.
In addition to being available and accessible to all, energy must be affordable, sustainable, and reliable. It is insufficient to merely provide connection points; all people – both now and in the future – must be able to afford the energy needed to improve their quality of life.
SDG 7 aligns with this vision, emphasising the need for affordable, reliable, clean, and modern energy for all. This includes access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and to promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.
Comparison with the Rights to Water and a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment
In the pursuit of the rights to water and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, many lessons can be drawn, which will assist in the recognition of sustainable energy as a human right. These lessons are:
1. Balancing Universal Standards with Local Realities
The recognition of the right to water and sanitation highlighted the importance of affordability, availability, and adequacy.
2. Preventing Commodification
The right to water has encountered challenges, especially with the privatisation, commodification and financialization of water services. The move towards privatisation of social services more generally has been documented by the former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty. Experience and evidence suggest that the push for renewable energy could risk turning essential energy services into commodities.
3. Synergies and Conflicts with Other Rights
The process of developing the right to a healthy environment showed how recognising new rights can have unintended consequences—such as being misappropriated to justify harmful activities. A right to energy could similarly be exploited by those with big financial and political interests in the fossil fuel industry.
4. Inclusivity of Vulnerable Populations
In the development of the normative content of water and environmental rights, there was an emphasis on ensuring that marginalised communities were prioritised. Given the similarly disproportionate access to energy, the same principle should apply to the right to sustainable energy.
Challenges and Opportunities in Establishing the Right to Sustainable Energy
Formally recognising energy as a human right poses both opportunities and risks. One of the potential challenges raised in the workshop is ensuring that this right is not used to justify harmful practices—such as expanding fossil fuel infrastructure under the guise of providing energy access.
For example, in the legal arguments brought in the Urgenda case, in the Netherlands, the language of rights, sustainable development, and SDGs was used as a defence by Shell, which argued that there would be a continued demand for fossil fuel energy products for decades still.
Another challenge of the “human rights approach” is linked to the drive towards renewable energy. The energy transition must avoid reproducing the same inequalities that exist in current energy systems, such as energy poverty and infringements of communities’ rights, such as land dispossession, violations of labour rights, pollution of critical natural resources and failure to equally share benefits.
There must be a social contract between renewable energy projects and impacted communities to ensure there are just energy transitions that respect, protect and realise human rights, including the right to Free Prior and Informed Consent.
There is a need to rapidly decarbonise energy systems while ensuring affordability. Achieving this requires a nuanced balance between global and national frameworks, ensuring that local solutions reflect community needs while contributing to international climate commitments.
To be effective, the right to sustainable energy must not only address access but also promote energy justice through participation, transparency, and accountability across the energy sector. By 2030, a 1.5 degree Celsius-aligned energy transition would create nearly 85 million additional energy transition-related jobs globally. The right must also be consistently developed in alignment with other human rights, particularly with the internationally recognised right to a healthy environment.
Financing and Governance of Energy Access
One of the most significant barriers to achieving sustainable energy access is the lack of adequate financing. African nations face disproportionately high costs for renewable energy projects, with figures quoted as being 7 times more expensive than the cost of capital in terms of financing. Additionally, Africa receives less than 2% of the international spending for clean energy projects.
Keeping in mind the disproportionate impact, efforts to finance energy justice should align with existing international human rights law standards. These rules impose obligations on states to respond to the climate and energy crises in an equitable and just manner.
In particular, two principles stand out - the international legal principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and the polluter pays principle. These align with the broader international human rights principles of international cooperation and assistance to the maximum of available resources, which require wealthy, Global North states (who have contributed the vast majority of historic carbon emissions) to pay proportionately more towards green solutions.
Over the past few years, the agenda for the international climate negotiations has focused on climate finance, which presents a critical opportunity to address these gaps and ensure that energy access is prioritised on equitable terms.
For the upcoming COP30, finance is at the top of the list under the Baku to Belem Roadmap, where a work plan has been done during August 2025 in pursuit of the New Collective Quantified Goal of scaling up financing to developing countries for climate action to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035.[iv]
Conclusion
The recognition of sustainable energy as a human right is not just a moral imperative—it is essential for achieving social, economic, and environmental justice. As the world gathers for COP30 in Brazil, the time for action is now! Governments, financiers, and civil society must work together to promote energy access that is affordable, sustainable, and inclusive. The recognition of this right will empower communities, foster development, and contribute to the fight against climate change. By prioritising sustainable energy, we can ensure a more just and equitable future for all.
[i] United Nations Development Programme, “Sustainable Energy” available at https://www.undp.org/asia-pacific/sustainable-energy.
[ii] ESI Africa “Global South powering up energy systems faster than North” available at https://www.esi-africa.com/industry-sectors/generation/global-south-powering-up-energy-systems-faster-than-north/
[iii] World Health Organisation “Household Air Pollution” available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/household-air-pollution-and-health
[iv] UNFCCC “Draft 2024 NCQG WP” available at https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Presidencies_BB1.3T_Workplan_Update_final.pdf
Author:
Lauren Nel
Lauren Nel is the Legal Coordinator of the Just Energy Transition Africa Initiative at Natural Justice. In this role, Lauren works with the different hubs across Natural Justice and partners to advocate for the acceleration of clean energy in pursuit of a just energy transition across Africa to benefit indigenous people and local communities. Lauren previously worked at the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) in Johannesburg, where she focused on environmental law, housing law, and mining issues. Before joining the LRC, she practised commercial and labour law at a private firm and did an 8-month internship at Amnesty International Southern Africa. She has a law degree along with an LLM in International Law and a postgraduate diploma in labour law from the University of Johannesburg.
AUTHOR:
Matthew Forgette
Matt Forgette is a legal researcher and consultant specialising in the intersection of climate justice and tax justice. He supports the Climate Justice work of the Center for Economic and Social Rights as a consultant while also serving at NYU Law’s State Energy and Environmental Impact Center. Over the past year, he has contributed valuable research and analysis on the UN Tax Convention, debt restructuring, and the links between climate change and human rights. He holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law, where he focused on international human rights law, and a B.A. in international studies from the University of Mississippi, where his thesis examined South-South cooperation between China and Latin America. His interdisciplinary background and commitment to global justice continue to inform his work at the intersection of law, policy, and climate action.
Author:
Alejandra Lozano Rubello
Alejandra is currently a Project Analyst at UNDP, supporting the NDC update process in Mexico. She works closely with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to develop the means of implementation and enabling environment components for Mexico’s new NDC, which will be presented at UNFCCC COP 30 in Brazil. She previously worked as Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice for the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Alejandra Lozano holds a law degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and an LLM from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
AUTHOR:
Maggie Rochi
Maggie works as Programme Officer on Climate and Environmental Justice for the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. She is an international lawyer working on the intersections between gender, human rights, environmental and economic law. Prior to joining GI-ESCR, she worked dealing with the protection of economic and social rights in Argentina, at an NGO focused on strategic litigation and as a clerk in the judiciary. She holds an LL.B. and a J.D. from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she specialised in International Law and an LL.M from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Switzerland.
